Tetraponera Penzigi on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Tetraponera penzigi'' is a
The whistling thorn produces a pair of straight spines at each node, and some of these have grossly swollen, hollow bases which are used by ants as
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of ant
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
of the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae
Pseudomyrmecinae is a small subfamily of ants containing three genera of slender, large-eyed arboreal ants, predominantly tropical or subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate cla ...
, which can be found in East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
. It forms an obligate symbiosis
Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...
with the whistling thorn acacia (''Vachellia drepanolobium''), a dominant tree in some upland areas of East Africa.
Description
A worker of ''T. penzigi'' is typically in length and is black with light brown appendages.Distribution
''Tetraponera penzigi'' is native to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.Ecology
The whistling thorn produces a pair of straight spines at each node, and some of these have grossly swollen, hollow bases which are used by ants as domatia
A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant.
Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...
. Four species of symbiotic ant use ''V. drepanolobium'' as host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
* Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica
People
* ...
; these are ''T. penzigi'' and three different species of ''Crematogaster
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (insect anatomy), gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Mem ...
''. The ants are mutually exclusive, only one species normally occupying a host tree at any one time. ''T. penzigi'' is often the first ant to colonise young trees, being attracted by the nectar
Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
provided by extrafloral nectaries
Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...
that the tree supplies. As the tree grows, ''T. penzigi'' ants tend to be evicted by ''Crematogaster'' ants, which do not feed from the nectaries, and destroy them on trees occupied by ''T. penzigi'', but not on other trees. The tree benefits from the presence of the ants because they are aggressive, streaming out of their domitia when disturbed and attacking grazing animals such as giraffe
The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
s and rhinoceros
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
es; having learned this, the mammals are deterred in their grazing activities.
The major mandibular gland chemicals identified from the heads of T. penzigi are 3-octanone and 2-phenylethanol. Like other ant mandibular secretion these may act as ant alarm pheromones. 3-Octanone is also found as part of the alarm pheromone mixture of Crematogaster ants that are also symbionts on the whistling thorn acacia in Kenya.
The introduction of the bigheaded ant '' Pheidole megacephala'' in Laikipia County
Laikipia County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located on the Equator in the former Rift Valley Province. Laikipia is a cosmopolitan county and is listed as county number 31. The county has two major urban centres: Nanyuki to the southea ...
, Kenya, has disrupted the mutualism between acacia trees and ants. ''Crematogaster'' ants actively defended the whistling thorn against the bigheaded ants and were all extirpated from the tree. However, ''T. penzigi'' workers, when present, retreated into their domitia and co-existed with the invaders for more than thirty days. The absence of the fierce ''Crematogaster'' ants resulted in the tree being much more likely to be grazed and damaged by elephants.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3912998 Pseudomyrmecinae Hymenoptera of Africa Insects described in 1907